Conf's Roleplay Guide
Hello and welcome! To start this off, I want to state this is just what I have picked up from Roleplaying mostly outside of VRChat. As such, most of this isn't specifically related to VRChat Roleplay, but rather Roleplaying in general, things that can improve quality, generate more RP, and keep things running smoothly. My experience mainly being from three+ years or serious Medieval low-fantasy Roleplay on a very structured Minecraft roleplaying server, Massivecraft. For a more general overview of Roleplaying, be sure to check the Roleplaying page. Chapter One Cliques and Closed Circles Generally speaking, Cliques and Closed Circles would be defined as small groups that don't frequently interact with people beyond their group, and rarely invite others in. There's nothing innately wrong with this, it happens for good reasons. However, specifically with Roleplay, unless your goal is to just create a story, and not mainly to engage in roleplay for roleplay's sake, closing your group off and rarely interacting isn't going to get you far. Nobody will know who you are or acknowledge your grand actions that you have nested behind walls, self gratifying within your circle. Closed Circles- referring to Closed Circles and Cliques both from now on- have a tendency to echo box, where views expressed by those within get echoed by the rest, creating an environment where everyone in the group agrees with everyone else, and validates each other's opinions without real consideration. With no contrary views being presented, they devolve into what most would call 'circle jerks' to put it crudely. Both with opinions, and with events in Roleplay. "I've got a kill count of thirty seven and killed a god once." everyone else in the group acknowledges this, then anyone outside the group who finds this to be extreme, or feel it leans God RP ways, is vilified by those within and the echobox turns them into assholes in the eyes of the Closed Circle. If my point isn't obvious yet- Closed Circles are bad for Roleplay. And life in general. They make you lesser, and breaking out of the echobox and engaging with more people is always to your benefit, as a person and a roleplayer. Your roleplay will have more meaning because of it, because you won't be an obscure unknown in a corner ranting about your extraordinary accomplishments to a few others. People will have experienced your character. Show, don't tell. Take it Private Not an ERP thing. While echo boxes mainly form within Closed Groups, the same sentiment can grow in more open groups if you raise issues with other Roleplayers- or people- openly. As an example, if I feel David Roleplayington was acting like a power gamer during the last session, and I gripe about him privately to those I ordinarily hang out with, the sentiment will be echo boxed and spread, until many people might see him as a Power Gamer- over what might have genuinely just been a slip up. And those people will be less accepting of his mistakes in the future, and won't give him a chance to prove himself better. Because of this, almost universally, issues should be taken up privately, with only the involved party, and politely. This seems like common sense, and it should be really, but it isn't. The only excuse for bringing something public is if they respond rudely and refuse to hear your side out in private, otherwise, you yourself are a power gamer and are acting toxically, because the only outcome is hate and drama around the player. Don't be a dick- Take it Private, and be polite. And if someone raises a complaint against you, consider their points, refute or explain what you think you are justified on, and come to an agreement. Drama only serves to make Roleplay worse for everyone involved. Conflict is Good, Communication is Better As contrary as it might seem to the above: Conflict is actually good for Roleplay. As long as it is kept in-character. The heart of every story is conflict. A goal, and something in the way of the goal. Harry Potter: The goal is to become a Wizard, the obstacle is usually a bad teacher like Umbridge, or literal Wizard Hitler. But what you have to remember is in Roleplay, You and the Obstacle are both players, and you both have a goal and want to enjoy yourselves. I may play Wizard Hitler, and my goal is to establish dominance and secure my power base. As 'Harry', your goal is to keep the world free, and destroy me. This isn't exactly 'good' conflict because the end result will naturally go Nuclear- or climax dramatically to a conclusion where one must die or be indefinitely defeated. But it illustrates the point. Nuclear options must always be avoided as a goal. Its unrealistic for Roleplay, because it forces one side to lose permanently, which is unfun. To avoid this, plan with your rival! Find someone you enjoy, approach them with an idea for a plot, work together to engineer a story that puts both players (and hopefully the groups around them) against each other, with goals that run contrary. Without conflict, everything stews in an endless purgatory of calm social RP, with mild development at best. Social RP has a place, and it great for relaxing, but breaking it up with good conflict spices things up and leads to more rapid character development. So plan conflict- Do not fear it! Communicate, and work together to create an engaging Roleplay! I would point to the Crossover Chronicles as a decent example of this. it was a little rough, due to Nagz being new to Roleplaying, and his community not grasping the concept instantly, but with an introduction, and a little more planning, it would have been a perfect example of this concept. Expect more "Chapters" in the future to appear on this page to elaborate on more topics as they come to mind! Category:Information